1 June 2011
Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Tuesday attacked the superstition which leads some people to abandon their own elderly parents, accusing them of witchcraft.
Addressing a rally in the Iapala administrative post, in Ribaue district, in the northern province of Nampula, he asked “How is it possible that the person who gave birth to us, who brought us up with loving care, who sent us to school to be what we are today – how can this person suddenly become a witch?” The audience replied that this was indeed not possible.
Far from being witches, elderly people are those who know the history and traditions of Mozambicans, stressed Guebuza, and so should never be marginalized from society.
“We should respect them, just as they looked after us when we were children”, he urged. “When we show a lack of respect for the elderly, we are teaching the younger generation not to respect us when we grow old”.
Guebuza also declared that the country has enormous human potential which is working to transform natural resources into wealth, to improve the life and well-being of all citizens.
He urged his audience to make use of the favourable agricultural conditions in this part of the country to produce more for their own consumption and for export. Ribaue has great potential for both food crops (such as cassava, maize, beans, groundnuts and vegetables) and for cash crops (notably tobacco).
Guebuza pointed out that in Mozambique there are still people who do not know where their next meal is coming from, children who wake up with no idea what they are going to eat that day, and seriously ill people, whose condition is made worse by lack of food.
As is usual on such visits, the audience gave Guebuza gifts – many of them in the form of agricultural produce. He asked their permission to pass these gifts on to the people who really need them.
Guebuza stressed that when someone builds a school or a hospital or works on his or her farm, these are all ways of fighting poverty. He declared that all Mozambicans are advancing in the struggle against poverty, each citizen contributing with his knowledge to the development of the country.
“In the past, our ancestors used tree bark to cover their bodies, then they used sacks, but today we use cloth to make our clothing”, said the President. It was enough to compare the conditions of today with those of the colonial period to see that Mozambicans are making progress.
“All Mozambique is marching to the end of poverty – on the farm, in the hospital, in the schools, in construction, wherever we are. We are all on the same path”, stressed Guebuza.
Iapala residents who spoke at the rally complained at the low prices which the buyers of their crops offer. Workers from a defunct state tobacco farm asked Guebuza to intervene to solve their demand for back wages. They claim that wages have been owed to them for the past 20 years.
Such concerns were noted down. As is usual, Guebuza refused to make any promises, but said that all the complaints raised would be analysed in detail.
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Guebuza Attacks Superstition